MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everybody. The President had a
good discussion earlier today with some House Republicans that were
over here to talk about the importance of fixing Social Security and acting on it this year. The President talked about the efforts that we have undertaken to reach out to the American people and talk to them about the problems facing Social Security. And he talked about the importance of making sure seniors understand that we're talking about fixing Social Security for future generations, but as far as they're concerned, nothing changes.

And the President also talked at length about the importance of
personal accounts, and how personal accounts will help younger workers
realize a greater rate of return on their own retirement savings. And
this was also an opportunity for the President to hear back from these
members about some of their ideas, and also to hear about some of their
discussions they've had in town hall meetings across the United
States. Many of these members have been participating in town hall
meetings, and they've been talking about Social Security.

We're pleased with the progress that's being made. More and more
Americans recognize that there are serious problems facing Social
Security. That's still the phase that we're in right now, is educating
the American people, while at the same time reaching out to members of
Congress, and talking about how we move forward together to get
something passed this year that will make Social Security permanently
sound, and will also make it a better deal for our children and
grandchildren by allowing them to realize a greater rate of return on
their retirement savings. And the President talked about the
importance of voluntary personal retirement accounts, the option of
being able to set aside money in personal accounts that could realize a
greater rate of return.

And a lot of these members talked about how important that was,
too, and about the magic of the compounding rate of interest, and how
people will realize significantly more than they're realizing under the
current system if they're able to have that option of investing some of
their dollars in personal retirement accounts.

And many of these members also talked about their appreciation for
the President taking on this important issue. This is a difficult
issue. We haven't acted on this issue in some 20 years, if you all
will recall, and that's why the President is going to continue reaching
out to the American people and continuing reaching out to members of
Congress who want to get something done. And more and more people are
starting to talk about ways to solve the problem and address this, this
year. So we're pleased with the progress made. Many of these members
expressed their appreciation for his leadership, and stated how pleased
they were with the progress that's being made, because more Americans
are recognizing the problems facing Social Security.

And with that, I will be glad to jump into questions.

Q Representative Jim Kolbe, who was in that meeting, said that
he told the President that the time has come to start putting forth
some ideas about how to deal with the insolvency problem, and that the
President should offer his remedy. Is it time for the President to do
that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, those are discussions that we're having with
members of Congress. I don't know that the discussion was quite the
way you described it. There was some discussion --

Q That's the way he described it.

MR. McCLELLAN: I saw his comments; I didn't see that that was the
way -- he talked about --

Q He said, "The time has come where we've got to start to put
some specifics out there about how we're going to fix the solvency" --

MR. McCLELLAN: Right. Terry said that that was the way he
described it to the President.

Q He said he told the President that.

MR. McCLELLAN: I just wanted to correct your characterization. I
think it was a little bit off. (Laughter.)

What was discussed with the President was that there's some
solutions -- they talked about the importance of finding a permanent
fix to Social Security, and they talked about how we move forward
together to get this done this year. And there was some discussion
about when do you do that. And the President said, well, we're still
in this phase now of educating the American people about the problems
facing Social Security, and at some point we'll be focusing more on
solutions and the way to getting this done through Congress.

As you're aware, Congress hasn't even begun hearings at this point
to consider legislation. They will begin those soon. And so we're
going to continue talking with members of Congress, like Congressman
Kolbe, about how we move forward. Congressman Kolbe has put forward
some very interesting ideas and the President welcomes that. He's
someone who recognizes the importance of getting something done, and we
appreciate his involvement in this issue.

So it was more of a general discussion about the phases that we're
in, and at some point we'll enter a new phase. But we're still early
in the process here. This is still in the early stages of the Social
Security discussion with the American people. And I think sometimes
people tend to think that this is something that can be solved
overnight. Well, if that was the case it would have been solved long
ago.

That's why it's important to go to the American people and say,
we've got serious problems; here's what they are. And the President
talked about those. He talked about how each year that we wait it
costs another $600 billion to fix the program. And just three years
from now, the baby boomers are going to be retiring, and that's going
to be putting a great strain on the system. And in just over a decade
from now, you're going to see shortfalls in the system. You're going
to see the system paying out more in benefits than is coming in to the
system. And that's why we need to fix it. That's why we need to find
a permanent solution to the problem. It's just a short time away.

Q When do you move to the next phase?

MR. McCLELLAN: John, as you know, I don't think we've ever put a
timetable on it. We said we're going to do that in concert with
members of Congress. We want to listen to them and talk about how we
move forward together --

Q Well, they seem to be suggesting it's time to move to the next
phase, so --

MR. McCLELLAN: Maybe you'll let me finish my comment here in a
second. That's why the President has said we want to move forward in a
bipartisan way. This is an important issue. It affects all
Americans. We need to work together to solve it. And you're seeing
more and more members talk about possible solutions. We would like to
see more Democrats come to the table and talk about solutions. They're
admitting now that there is a problem facing Social Security, and
something needs to be done.

And so at some point we'll be talking more about those solutions.
But the President has said all ideas are on the table, with the
exception of raising the payroll tax rate. But he spelled out
important principles. But we're still in the phase of reaching out to
the American people, and we're pleased with the progress that's being
made.

Q Would next week be too early to move to the next phase?

MR. McCLELLAN: We're still in the -- as you're aware, we're on a
60-day push to reach out to the American people about the problems
facing Social Security. And that continues. The President looks
forward to going to Ohio tomorrow to participate in a roundtable to
talk about the problems facing Social Security, and also to hear
feedback from people in Ohio about their system. They are a state that
opted out of the traditional Social Security system, and they'll talk
about the progress being made there, and how -- and then the President
can highlight the importance of personal accounts in that respect, as
well.

Q Scott, you just said, we've never put a timetable on it. But,
in fact, the President gave an interview to The Washington Times at the
beginning of the year in which he said he wanted legislation by June or
July. So how can you still be in the early stages of this, and still
want legislation or a bill by early summer and not --

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me just correct you, in terms of putting
forward specific ideas for finding a permanent solution. Congress is
moving forward on some legislative ideas. Senator Grassley is going to
be holding hearings later -- a hearing later this month or next month.
I think he's expressed that he intends to move forward this summer in
his committee, as well. And so we welcome that. But that's what we're
discussing with members of Congress, about how to move forward. And at
the right time, the President will state his views in a more specific
way about how to fix the system permanently.

Now, personal accounts are an important part of any solution. They
are integral to a solution, because they will help younger workers
realize more on their own retirement savings, and it will give them
ownership. It will say -- it will empower people; you have ownership
over these funds, and this will help you realize a greater rate of
return. If you look at the Thrift Savings Plan, which we're talking
about modeling it after, I mean, many people are realizing 6 percent, 7
percent return on their money. It's been a great success. It was
highlighted by the bipartisan Social Security Commission. But we're
continuing to talk with Congress about when the time is right to move
forward on that. But we first want to make sure everybody has an
understanding of the problems facing Social Security.

Q Maybe you could address that, then, because you say, at the
right time the President will lay out some specifics. And so what you
have is members of Congress, members of the President's own party that
are saying, well, you've got some ideas, you've got some specifics;
we're interested in your leadership, Mr. President -- why not now?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know where you've been -- the President has
been leading. He's been going all across this country talking to the
American people about the need to act on this problem now, because it
only gets worse with time.

Q But what about you, when you say at the right time he'll lay
out some specifics -- what is the right time?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's discussions we'll have with members of
Congress, Norah. That's why we're having all these meetings. The
President has reached out to Democrats and Republicans alike to talk
about the problems facing Social Security and to listen to their
ideas. And it's important that we proceed forward in a bipartisan way
in order to get it done. That's why I emphasized that this is a
difficult issue; otherwise it would have been solved long ago. But the
President is someone who believes in taking on big issues and tackling
the tough problems. That's what leadership is about, and that's how
we're doing this.

And I think there are different ways to get things done. If you
look over the course of his first administration, we were able to
accomplish big things: historic tax cuts for the American people.
Tomorrow being tax day, the President is going to be visiting a coffee
shop tomorrow to talk with some small business owners and families who
have benefited from the tax cuts we've passed that have gotten our
economy growing stronger and have created some 3 million jobs since May
of 2003. We were able to pass historic Medicare reforms. We were able
to pass the education reforms to improve our public schools. And the
President believes in working with congressional leaders to accomplish
these things. And that's why we're having these discussions, to talk
about the way forward, and to come to a solution.

Q Scott, when you say that the time will be right to start
talking about solutions, what determines that? Has the President
decided what the solutions are, and he's worried about the timing, in
terms of politics, votes on the Hill, the legislative calendar?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I understand, I know that some want to jump
ahead in the process. But this is important that we go through the
process of educating the American people, because it is such an
important issue -- it affects every American. And that's why the
President has continued to talk about the problems facing Social
Security. Those are discussions that you bring up, in terms of the
timing, about how we move forward on legislation. Those are discussions
that we continue to have with members of Congress.

The President will not hesitate, when the time is right, to be more
specific about how we find a permanent solution. But he believes on
this issue, this is one we have to work hand-in-hand on to move
forward.

Q So are you saying that the President has, in fact, made up his
mind what those solutions are and it's a question of timing?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, not at all, because he's listening to members
of Congress about some of their ideas, and he's laid out some ideas
that he thinks are worthy of consideration, and he has specifically
mentioned some of those. He will continue to mention those for
permanently fixing Social Security, and he wants to hear from others
about ideas. One idea that he's highlighted that he finds very
constructive was by the Democrat member of his commission, Mr. Pozen,
who talked about progressive indexing. The President wants to have a
system that is more progressive as we move forward, and that's
something he's very interested in. We continue to welcome all ideas
for solving the problem. And the President looks forward to continuing
to work with members of Congress to get this done this year, because
the American people expect nothing less of us.

Q Scott, what is the allegation that's prompted the holdup on
Lester Crawford's nomination for the FDA, and what's the President going to do about it?

MR. McCLELLAN: You might want to talk to the committee. The
committee put out a statement on that and said that there's some
allegations that had come to their attention and that they wanted to
look into those matters. We hope that the committee will move forward
quickly to resolve the matter and move forward on his nomination. The
President believes Dr. Crawford is someone who brings great experience
to the position and is highly qualified to lead the FDA.

Q So the President is aware of the details of the allegation and
stands by him anyway?

MR. McCLELLAN: I just made that very clear. We believe he is
highly qualified.

Q Scott, back on Social Security and rephrasing the question, I guess -- some on Capitol Hill are saying, why keep pushing privatization when the White House knows it's holding up the works on getting this thing moved in any way, shape or form on the Hill, and just deal with solvency. Why not? And, secondly, you're touting the President's tax cuts, and some are saying that is, indeed, some of the
problem because that could have helped pay for some of the problem with
Social Security in the near future.

MR. McCLELLAN: What are you referring to? The tax cuts helped get
our economy growing. We've seen millions of jobs created --

Q But they're saying that money could have been used to help
fund --

MR. McCLELLAN: -- we're seeing strong, sustained economic growth.
And when the President has talked about personal accounts, I mean, he's
talked about a gradual transition. And if you'll recall, one of the
big problems with Social Security is that it faces an $11-trillion
unfunded liability. That is something that will be passed on to our
children and grandchildren. That's another reason why we need to act.
And when you talk about the personal accounts and the transition
financing that would be involved, it's very similar to someone
refinancing the mortgage on their home. You're just moving some of
those costs forward and paying it off sooner. And I think that that
will address one of the important problems facing this country, as
well, which is the unfunded liabilities facing our entitlement
programs. So I disagree with --

Q Well, why keep pushing this issue --

MR. McCLELLAN: And in terms of the issue you brought up, this will
still be a government-run program. This program has worked very well
for seniors. It's been an important program for America's seniors.
But the President believes it's a philosophical issue that people ought
to be able to have more say over their own retirement money. And
that's why he believes personal accounts are important. Let me point
out --

Q If it's such a problem, why not leave privatization alone and
deal with the issue of solvency so it can move on the Hill?

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me talk about why -- we're doing both. Let me
talk about why personal accounts are so important and why personal
accounts are part of any solution, they're integral to any solution,
because right now you have a system that is promising future
generations things that it cannot -- making commitments that it cannot
meet, it is making promises that it cannot meet. And they're facing
either massive tax increases or massive benefit cuts under the current
system. That's -- and I pointed out the unfunded liability -- that's
why we need to find a permanent solution.

Now, at the same time while we're talking about a permanent
solution, we want to help our children and grandchildren be able to
realize a greater rate of return. And I think that my generation,
younger generations realize the magic of compound interest. They
realize that if they're able to have more say over their money, they
can realize significantly more than they could under the current system
and have more of a nest egg when they retire. Not only that, but it's
also a nest egg that they would now be able to pass on --

Q So the magic of Wall Street.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- to pass on to their heirs.

Q So the magic of Wall Street.

MR. McCLELLAN: So personal accounts -- that's why personal
accounts are important to this. No, it's the magic of our children and
grandchildren being able to have more say over their own money and
realize a greater rate of return on their money. Look at the Thrift
Savings Plan that the President has talked about. The Thrift Savings
Plan has been a huge success. It's what the bipartisan commission
pointed to when they talked about the benefit of personal accounts.

Q Scott, on another subject, the President met with India's Foreign Minister Natwar Singh earlier today. Is the White House confident that it has given the Indian government the kind of assurances it needs, that despite the fact the U.S. would be selling F16s to Pakistan that it's not going to disrupt that delicate balance of power between those two countries?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think so. And that did not come up in the
meeting.

Q It didn't come up in the meeting?

MR. McCLELLAN: No. That did not come up in the discussion.

Q The sale of F16s to Pakistan --

Q What did they talk about?

MR. McCLELLAN: The meeting really focused on ways to strengthen
our bilateral relationship. And this was a briefer meeting than usual
because it was with the Foreign Minister, not the Prime Minister. And
as you're aware, Prime Minister Singh will be coming to Washington this
summer, and the President looks forward to that visit. And the
President will be going to India at some point, as well. We haven't
set a time for that, but the President looks forward to making a trip
there, as well.

But this was focused on some of what Secretary Rice talked about
recently on the strategic dialogue, and some of the new initiatives
that we're undertaking. And so they talked about the economic and
energy and strategic cooperation that we have on bilateral issues. And
that was really the focus of the meeting.

We're going to be continuing to talk about some of the dialogue
that we're having on issues like energy, and I think you'll be hearing
more on that from the State Department and others as we move forward.

Q So if arm sales to Pakistan did not come up in the discussion
with India's Foreign Minister, did arm sales to India come up?

MR. McCLELLAN: Not that I heard about, Terry. Again, it was a
brief meeting. But I would leave it the way I described it.

Q And --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we previously talked about the issue of the
F16s and we've had that discussion with India. The President reached
out to Prime Minister Singh and talked about it and our belief that it
doesn't change the overall balance of military power in the region, and
at the same time recognizing that it's vital to Pakistan's security.
And we also talked about how we would continue to have a strategic
dialogue with India on such matters as will.

Q On another subject, there's growing concern in the country
about a number of pharmacists who are refusing to fill valid
prescriptions from doctors for the so-called "morning after pill," and
Congress is taking a look at acting on this and requiring pharmacists
who are refusing to fill these prescriptions because they say it's on
the basis of their conscience, requiring them to do so. What's the
President's position on this?

MR. McCLELLAN: I have not had a discussion with him about it, but
I'll be glad to take a look at it.

Q Scott, when President Yushchenko was here -- a week-and-a-half
ago, I guess; it was before the Rome trip -- he said publicly, and his
aides apparently also talked with the administration, about his
discovery that the previous government in Ukraine had sold nuclear-capable cruise missiles to China and to Iran. What has the administration learned about this since?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't have any more update from my standpoint. I
mean, it is something that the government in Ukraine has been
investigating and looking into. We appreciate the action that they are
taking to look into that matter. But beyond that I haven't heard any
further update.

Q Would you pursue if you get a moment?

MR. McCLELLAN: If there is, sure.

Go ahead, Sarah.

Q Thank you. Is the President going to put permanent U.S. bases
in Afghanistan?

MR. McCLELLAN: We actually talked about this issue yesterday, and
we want to make sure that we're doing all we can to train and equip
Afghan security forces and make sure that the Afghan people are able to
defend their country from the threats that they face. We've been
having a dialogue with the government on these issues; we've been
talking to them about security arrangements going forward. Those
discussions continue. I wouldn't want to go beyond that at this point,
because those are ongoing discussions we're having with the government
in Afghanistan. But they certainly have been a strong ally in the
global war on terrorism and we want to make sure that they are able to
move forward -- continue to move forward on a democratic path where
they are able to defend themselves.

Q The Jessica Lunsford tragedy in Florida pointed out there are
serious deficiencies, perhaps more on the state level, in tracking
sexual predators than was previously understood. Is there any
discussion on the executive level of strengthening tracking sexual predators so that something like this doesn't happen again, when you get the FBI involved?

MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely, there's always discussion on that. And
I think all of us were horrified by that incident. It was just a
terrible tragedy. And I don't think anyone can imagine how someone
could do something like that, particularly to an innocent child. And
we have made the Amber Alert a high priority in this administration.
That has been a great success in being able to track people who prey on
children. And we are always looking at ways to make sure we doing
everything we can to protect our communities and protect our children.

Q Anything under discussion right now?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't have anything to update at this point.

Go ahead, go ahead, John.

Q Thank you, Scott. As of today, the Ex-Im Bank has proposed $5 billion in loan and loan guarantees to China to build a nuclear reactor --is proceeding according to their spokesman. And it's beyond the stage of tentative approval, despite the mounting evidence that China helped Iran and Pakistan, as referred to in the previous question, to build a nuclear reactor. Is the administration -- particularly after the warnings it received about Iran from Prime Minister Sharon last week -- going to try to at least put the brakes on and take another look?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, as I've pointed out to you previously, there
are agencies that look at these issues to make sure that there are no
proliferation concerns before anything goes forward. And I think where
we discussed it last time is where I will leave it today. I don't have
anything more for you. You can talk to the appropriate agencies about
it.

Q The U.N. agencies and the Nuclear Regulator Commission?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we have -- yes, we have agencies within the
U.S. government that look at these matters.

Q Scott, in an interview with The Washington Times yesterday,
House Majority Leader DeLay, when asked about the President's
description of border minutemen as vigilantes, DeLay said, I'm not sure the President meant that. I think they're providing an excellent service.

And my first question, does the President still regard them as
vigilantes because they've hanged anybody or what?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, when you say "regard them," let's define who
we're talking about. If we're talking about a loosely affiliated group
of individuals who are armed and trying to take things into their own
hands, we have serious concerns about that.

If you're talking about individuals who are simply reporting
suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities, that's another
matter. But there are authorities who are responsible for enforcing
our borders. And they're the ones who are charged with keeping people
out of -- keeping people from crossing the border illegally. We've
done a lot to beef up our Border Patrol and to put better technology
along the borders to prevent people from entering this country
illegally.

But it goes back to what we've talked about before, Les. The
broader issue here is we need to have immigration reform. The
President has put forward a proposal with some very clear principles to
build a more humane and orderly migration system. And it's a proposal
that will allow us to then focus, make sure that the resources of the
Border Patrol and others who protect our borders are focused on those
who are coming here for the wrong reasons, those who are terrorists, or
those who are coming here to be involved in criminal activity.

Q Congressman DeLay also noted that Washington State Democrat
Congressman Jim McDermott, "has been found guilty by a court of law."
And my question, does the President believe that House Majority Leader
DeLay's record is anywhere nearly as questionable as Baghdad Jim's?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think the President has made his views known
about Congressman DeLay.

Go ahead.

Q What does the President expect of Jim Wolfensohn in his new duties in Gaza?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, that's an announcement that is probably being
made as we are in this room. Secretary Rice was making that
announcement over at the Department of State. The President had a good
visit with Mr. Wolfensohn just a short time ago. We appreciate the job
he did at the World Bank. And we look forward to him taking on this
new role as the special envoy for the Quartet on the Gaza
disengagement.

This is a real opportunity that the parties have before them in the
region to get moving on the President's two-state vision. And Mr.
Wolfensohn will help make sure that the parties are coordinating and
cooperating closely as the Israelis move forward on the disengagement
plan, and he'll help make sure that there's a smooth transition as the
Israeli people pull out of that region, or withdraw from that region.
And another focus that he'll have will be on the Palestinian economy
and making sure that we're doing all we can to support the Palestinian
people in their aspirations for a better future and a stronger economic
future.

Q While the U.S. is the largest donor to the Palestinian Authority, we heard the President and Mr. Sharon talking about the international community role. In terms of finance, are you relying more on the Europeans and other, maybe Japanese, donors to do that? Or is it mainly it's going to be divided by the U.S.? And if you have a figure for that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, the State Department might be able to update
you on some of the latest efforts that they've been involved in, in
terms of that. But the President, I think, made it very clear that all
of us in the international community should do what we can to support
the parties as they move forward on the two-state vision that he
outlined. And the President -- the Quartet -- the President and the
Quartet all outlined the roadmap toward achieving that two-state
vision, and we want to see the parties move forward on that roadmap.
The Gaza withdrawal provides the parties an opportunity to get moving
in that direction again.

Go ahead, in back. Let me keep going. The President has got to
leave here shortly.

Q Thank you so much. My question is on North Korea. Today in an interview by Secretary Rice with The Wall Street Journal, I cannot paraphrase what she said, but I read the newspaper this morning and she said North Korea might be a little bit disappointed with the reaction of the United States because the United States didn't jump over the kind of statement made by North Korea previously. But I want to ask you, the President has any sense of urgency on this issue? The statement by Secretary Rice didn't sound like a sense of urgency, or whatever. What is the President's --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sure the President does. That's why the
President led the way to forming the six-party framework for resolving
the matter in a peaceful and diplomatic way. This is a high priority
for the administration. And, yes, North Korea does make comments from
time to time, and they expect the international community to react to
those comments. Those comments only tend to further isolate North
Korea. North Korea needs to come back to the talks so that we can talk
about how to move forward on the proposal that we have on the table,
and so that the parties in the region can realize our shared goal of a
denuclearized peninsula. That's the shared goal of all of us who are
working in the six-party framework. And it's time for North Korea to
come back to the talks.

Steve.

Q Is he ready for tonight? (Laughter.)

MR. McCLELLAN: The President managed to get in a little bit of
warm-up time last week, before we left for Rome, and then a little bit
yesterday. He's obviously been busy with a number of other priorities,
but he's gotten a little bit of warm-up time in. The President is
looking forward to tonight. This is one of those great moments in
baseball, and to be able to participate in it is exciting. And I think
the people of this whole area are excited about baseball coming back to
Washington, D.C.

The Nationals are off to a strong start. They're in first place
now in the NL East -- it's tied with a couple other teams. The
President is very much looking forward to tonight, he's an avid
baseball fan. He has a great love for the game, and he looks forward
to throwing out the first pitch tonight to begin baseball here in
Washington again.